Lost Horse Press hosts Montana Shakespeare in the Park in Sandpoint!

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks will perform Shakespeare’s THE TAMING OF THE SHREW with a regional Wild West take during its upcoming 2015 summer tour throughout Montana, northern Wyoming, eastern Idaho, western North Dakota and eastern Washington. Hosted by Lost Horse Press, an independent nonprofit poetry press, Sandpoint’s performance will be held on 21 August 2015 at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. The gate will open at 1 PM, with the play starting at 6 PM. The performance is free and open to the public. People are encouraged to arrive early with chairs, blankets, and picnics. Entertainments of a medieval flavor will be presented beginning at 1 PM, including an authentic medieval village set up by the Sandpoint chapter of SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism); Ul-Fire Tribal Dancers, a tribal-style belly dance group; musicians, including Desiré Aguirre on hammer dulcimer, Mobius Riff, featuring flute, mandolin, and percussion; and Sans Apelle, Roving Bard of Pendaleshire playing the lute; vendors will be on hand to demonstrate their crafts, such as Really Twisted & Hammered, a jewelry-making venue for children and adults; Staff of Life, a hand-dyed yarn and spinning wheel demonstration and sales by Kim & Brooke Spencer; herb and basket-making demonstrations; Laura the Lavender Lady; and Lost Horse Press featuring poetry books for sale, as well as Robert Pack’s WILLING TO CHOOSE: VOLITION & STORYTELLING IN SHAKESPEARE’S MAJOR PLAYS, a critique of the Bard’s major plays published by Lost Horse Press; fencing champions, Meaghan & Aaron of the Barony of Wealdsmire will demonstrate the art of fencing; and Sutari will delight the audience with juggling skills; as well as various other activities to amuse the audience. Students from Sandpoint High School’s Shakespeare Club will perform short vignettes from an assortment of Shakespeare’s plays for picnickers. Recycling of all trash will be done by Sandpoint’s Green Team, who will make sure that everything that can be recycled, will be.

In its 43rd season, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks has added two days to their tour, plus performances in Spokane, Washington and Sandpoint, Idaho, to make it the largest tour in its history. The company features 10 professional actors selected from national auditions who tour without technical assistance to bring live theatre to mostly rural communities. This summer, 47% of the communities reached by the troupe have populations of 2,000 or fewer. “We are excited to extend our reach to Spokane and Sandpoint as we maintain the tradition of bringing free Shakespeare to audiences across Montana and its surrounding states,” said Kevin Asselin, artistic director of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. “We are thankful to all of our tour coordinators who help us share the gift of Shakespeare with their communities.”

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks is an outreach program of Montana State University’s College of Arts and Architecture. Grants, corporate sponsorships, and hundreds of individual donors support the free performances. The company is also supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, along with other major sponsors. Each community host is also responsible for raising the funds necessary to bring the troupe to each community. Lost Horse Press would like to thank those individuals and local businesses that have contributed to bring the play to our community.